Easiest way to fix squeaky floors in old house
Hammer| Posted inGeneral Questionson
Hi hope everyone is doing well. I’m putting down laminate flooring on my second floor 100+ year old home. I was originally going to use something called squeak no more, it was on a show of this old house, I actually have the kit. You drill long screws into floor and then snap off above carpet. However I watched a video where a plumber said I wish people would stop drilling these long screws down because people are busting pipes and wires. I can’t see the floor underneath so made me rethink what I was doing. I’m going to rip up carpet to subfloor. What is safer way to do this? Shorter screws?
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Replies
Shorter screws. 1 5/8" max. That assumes 3/4" floor boards and wiring should be deeper than 1" in the joists. Standard drywall screws should work fine to reduce squeaks.
Thank you for advice. I have a floor heat vent so I should be able to see how thick subfloor is
If the floor was wired to code, the wires should be at least 1 1/4" away from the edge of the stud. If you had a good electrician, usually much more. Standard subfloor screws/nails should work. You do have to watch for plumbing especially if the house has been renovated. You can usually figure out where the plumbing goes and take extra care there.
If you are using screws, make sure you they have enough clear shank to match your subfloor. You want the screw to pull the subfloor down, something like drywall screw won't work as it is fully threaded.
Usually I just nail the subfloor with ring shank nails or sublock scrails. Lot of times with T&G or lumber subfloor a couple of the boards will not be sitting on joists. These are squeak machines. You need to pull up the section there add blocking to the side of the joist and re-install.